


you can hold my hand (if no one’s home)

by crying_at_ikea



Series: disney but if they weren't cowards [1]
Category: Beauty and the Beast - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Not Beta Read, belle wears the original ball gown bc the new one is ugly, genderbent character, it might seem a little rushed, let's go lesbians :), minor violence warning for when adele is attacked by wolves, sorry about that, title from "line without a hook" by ricky montgomery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 00:42:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30030408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crying_at_ikea/pseuds/crying_at_ikea
Summary: beauty and the beast but gay
Relationships: Adam/Belle (Disney), Cogsworth/Lumiere (Disney), Plumette/Original Female Character(s) (Disney)
Series: disney but if they weren't cowards [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2209152
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	you can hold my hand (if no one’s home)

Belle had always known that the villagers tolerated her at best, but it came to a head when they insulted both her, the little girl she was teaching, and the way she was washing her laundry. Not only had they broken the contraption and scared the donkey, but they’d also scared the girl too. She stormed home, feeling more than a little angry and upset. It was like there was a dark cloud hanging over her head. She made this all clear to her father.

“Papa, do you have to go?” she asks again. “Surely you can miss this one festival.”

“I’m afraid not, darling. But I will bring you what you want. Ask for anything, my dear,” he says, patting her hand gently.

“A single rose, Papa,” she says. “One white rose.”

“And a white rose you shall have.”

* * *

“I will  _ never _ marry you, Gaston,” she says, wrenching her arm from his grip. She slams the door in his face and waits until he leaves. She scoffs as she walks down the stairs, tossing seed to the chickens. “Madame Gaston, his little  _ wife _ ,” she says bitterly. “Can you imagine?”

* * *

The moment Philippe came galloping down the cobblestone road alone Belle knows something is wrong.

“Take me to him,” she says. She expects to find the cart turned over, yes, and Papa gone, but she doesn’t expect a beast to have taken him captive for something she had asked for.

“Go, Belle,” Papa says desperately. Belle agrees quietly. The beast turns away.

“Are you so cold-hearted you would deny a daughter the chance to kiss her father one last time?” she shouts at her back.

“You have one minute,” the beast snarls. Belle opens the door and hugs her father tight.

“I love you, Papa,” she whispers, “and I promise you will escape.”

“Belle, what—” She spins, pushing her father away and locking the door at the same time. “No, Belle,  _ no _ —”

“Papa, run!” she says desperately.

“You would take his place?” the beast asks incredulously, her blue eyes wide in surprise.

“He’s my father,” Belle says like it explains everything and ignores the growl that emanates from deep in the beast’s throat.

* * *

The things in the castle are  _ alive _ and speaking to her! Belle feels like she’s fallen into one of her beloved books. Lumiere and Cogsworth had both warned her against the West Wing, which just made her more curious. The dresser—Madame de Garderobe, her mind supplies—had spit out enough fabric to make a rope. Belle startles when the beast knocks on her door and demands Belle come down for dinner with her. Obviously, Belle refuses, which just angers the beast more. She says if Belle doesn’t eat with her, she doesn’t eat at all. How utterly ridiculous!

“No, no, you must eat!” Lumiere says, ushering her out of the room. “Plumette, tell Mrs. Potts to prepare dinner for our guest!” The elegant duster sweeps (pun intended, Belle thinks smugly to herself) out of the room. Belle enjoys a delicious dinner and pudding before returning to the long rope in her room. Mrs. Potts and her son, Chip, give her tea before giving her an additional warning about the West Wing. Of course, Belle leaves her room and wanders around. She finds a once-beautiful portrait of a young blonde woman—titled simply “Princess Adele”—that has a multitude of scratch marks on it. She also finds a single rose suspended in midair covered by a beautiful glass. Something slams into the ground in front of her and she scrambles back, terrified.

“Get out!” the beast roars. “Just—go!” Belle doesn’t hesitate to obey.

* * *

Belle and the beast are walking in the frozen garden when she accidentally calls her “Adele.”

“Where did you hear that name?” the beast says, snarling. Belle flinches back slightly and the beast draws away.

“Um, I saw it in the West Wing,” Belle whispers, ashamed. “Under a portrait of a princess.” The beast softens a little, eyes growing sad.

“Yes,” she whispers. “Princess Adele. I suppose you may call me Adele. I haven’t heard that name in a long time…” They don’t talk until dinner that night.

* * *

The next day, the beast—Adele—leads her to the library.

“It’s beautiful,” she gasps.

“If you like it so much, it’s yours.” Belle processes this for a few seconds.

“It’s—you’re just… giving this to me?”

“Yes, of course. You’ll get more use out of it than I.”

“Have you really read all of these?” Belle says, changing the subject quickly.

“Hm?” Adele says, looking up from the book she had picked up. “No, of course not. Some of them are in Greek.” Belle pauses.

“Did you just make a joke?”

“…Maybe.” Adele huffs a little and leaves the library. Belle idly wonders to herself if Adele would be blushing if she was human.

That night, Belle gets into the dress Madame de Garderobe made her, a delicate golden ball gown with shoulder straps and a small rose in the middle of the sweetheart neckline. She meets Adele on the stairs. She is wearing a blue-and-gold dress and her horns gleam in the candlelight. Mrs. Potts sings and Cadenza plays, allowing them to spin around the ballroom uninterrupted.

After that, Adele shows Belle the magic mirror.

“Do you truly think you could be happy here?” Adele asks hopefully.

“Can anyone be happy in captivity?” Belle responds, smiling sadly.

“I… suppose not. Go on,” she says before she says something she may regret, “use it. Ask for your father.”

“Show me my father,” Belle says and nearly drops it when she sees what is happening. Maurice is being manhandled by a crowd into a wagon with padded sides.

“Go,” Adele says quietly. “Go to him. And—keep the mirror. To look back on me with.”

“Thank you,” Belle whispers, and flees.

* * *

Adele waits at the top of the highest tower for someone to find her—to kill her. Someone does.

“Did you truly think anyone could love something like you?” he sneers and shoots her in the shoulder. Adele roars in pain, leaping onto the roof of another tower. He follows her and shoots her again, this time in the middle of her back.

“No!” Belle lets out an anguished scream. “Adele!”

“Stay there!” Adele shouts. “Belle, stay there!” The man follows her. Adele dangles him over the side of the tower as he begs for his life (she should have known better than to trust him). She tosses him carelessly to the ground and she jumps for Belle.

“No, it’s too far—” Belle starts and cuts herself off when Adele lands heavily beside her. “Adele, look out!” But it’s too late. The man shoots her again in the back and she stumbles into the open-air room. The room with the rose in it. “Adele,” Belle says around a strangled sob. “No, no, don’t leave me—I’m right here, everything is okay—” Distantly, the man screams over the sound of crumbling rock but Adele is too far gone to notice. “Everything will be okay,” Belle says as Adele goes still in her arms. She curls over Adele’s body, not noticing Agathe entering the room. She pulls her hood down and lifts the flower petals, watching them dissolve into golden dust. The light envelops Adele, lifting her body off the ground. Belle gasps, watching with tears still falling down her face. Adele is set back down, the strap of her slip dress hanging off her shoulder. She has tan skin and dark, shiny brown hair that reaches her waist. She turns, blue eyes hopeful and bright. “Adele,” Belle says in a hushed whisper. “I love you, Adele—oh, my…” Adele rushes over, wrapping her in a hug.

“My love,” she murmurs into Belle’s hair as the sun rises. “My darling Belle.”

* * *

Epilogue: Lumiere never thought he would see Cogsworth’s human face again, but here he was. The shorter man was smiling at him, resplendent as ever in the sun. Behind Lumiere, Plumette and Eloise were wrapped in a warm embrace. Mrs. Potts and Chip were hugging Mr. Potts. Suddenly, Cogsworth surged forward to embrace Lumiere tightly.

“I thought—”

“Ah-ah,  _ mon amour _ , none of that,” Lumiere said, smiling brightly. “We are here together, no? That is enough.”

“Yes,” Cogsworth said into Lumiere’s shoulder, “it is.”


End file.
